The Sprung Floor: A Poem for Irreverent Dance

As a part of the Christmas Celebrations for Irreverent Dance this week, I took to the stage and read the following poem, which I wrote especially for the evening. I was very honoured to be amongst such a receptive and warm audience and it was a joy to watch so many other very talented people who performed on the stage as well. It had been a long time since I last performed my work on stage and although I was more nervous than even I realised, I was humbled by the reaction and the lovely comments from so many people. I had a few requests to post the poem up so here it is:

The Sprung Floor

You come to expect
the sprung floor from every floor after you dance.

You love that subtle bounce back from your steps

In the studio for a moment a seriousness falls
we stop swapping jokes in the mirrors
and our faces turn to concentration.
In time with the music
we synchronize our bodies

like a passing rain shower
together we work to become something
larger than ourselves.

I move my arms as I can
and bring the tips of my fingers through the air
drawing circles and semicircles in time

we all mark out
our body’s geometry

this circumference
is mine.

*
My body has changed.
I have learned a new language
and I want to speak it all the time

Dance is a language for the body. A tool of expression
with sentences and paragraphs.

*

You come to expect
the sprung floor from every floor after you dance.

You love that subtle bounce back from your steps
or perhaps it’s more that you have a lightness to you
after dancing
maybe you carry
a sprung floor with you always
under your feet.